I started in Adobe Illustrator with a capital D from the quirky, pudgy typeface Pusab. I wanted to use an actual topographic map to create the layers, but I wasn't able to find an image that worked well with this letter. So instead I purchased an abstract stock vector map with topography levels included, and removed all the elements I didn't need.

I then reversed the letter D in Illustrator, and arranged the topographic artwork until I liked how it looked. This was because I planned to print on the back of the paper. After that, I scaled it to the size I wanted my letter to be, and printed about a dozen copies of the letter, reversed, with the topography guides printed on the back. From there I could hand cut each layer and stack the shapes together. When I first stacked each layer, I planned on simply gluing the pieces together, but I realized I wanted some space between layers for added shadow and dimensionality. I used little round adhesive foam discs, about 1/4" in diameter, to space the levels, and sometimes had to cut them in half or even quarters to hide them under the smaller cut layers.

What I think is most interesting about this letter is how it interacts with light and shadows. The change is dramatic from just a slight adjustment to the light source, giving this letter an almost architectural, sculptural quality. I wish I had been able to better integrate the counter (the negative inside space) of the D, using the topographic layers to build up from it to create a trough. Instead, I chose to keep this letter abstract, as though a slice of a 3D elevation map had been cut out in the shape of a D, rather than the D itself having topographic layers.